John Kirk 1770 & Ann Beale 1765

JOHN KIRK  born c1770 in Mountsorrel, Leicestershire & 

ANN BEALE born 1765 in Broughton Astley, Leicestershire

In the year 1770 George lll is the current monarch. Captain Cook and his crew are setting sail on their ship HMS Endeavour, in April they become the first europeans to encounter the coastline of Australia and in June they discover the Great Barrier Reef when HMS Endeavour runs aground. On the 5th March five Americans were killed by British troops in an event that would help start the American Revolutionary War, labeled the Boston Massacre.

John was born around January 1770 in Mountsorrel, Leicestershire, his parents being William Kirk &  Mary Doughty. They baptised him on the 25th January 1770 at St Peters Church, Mountsorrel. 

He later moved to Cossington where he worked as a Miller. You can see a photo of Cossington Mill above taken by Tom Bassett. Cossington Mill, Weir and Lock is one mile west of the village. Records show that the former corn mill has been there since 1284 although a mill has been at Cossington even longer than that.The Cossington Mill group of properties comprises of the Mill House, Mill Barn and Cossington Mill itself. He possibly inherited the water mill when his father William died, being the eldest son when the will was made he inherited alot of his father's estate & his bakery business in Mountsorrel.

John's father William died in early 1794 but shortly before his death he had made his last will & testament -

John's Father William's Will (Summary Below) ~

He also leaves all household goods & furniture, stock, plate, money, securities for money and the money thereby secured, book depts, goods, cattle, chattels, personal estates & effects, the whole of the baking business, the whole of his wind & water mills & all the utensils thereto belonging  to my eldest son John Kirk.

He bequeathed £20 a year to his dear wife Mary Kirk for life, daughters Mary Adderly & Ann received £50. Also the four other children, Elizabeth, Richard, Thomas and Catherine all were to receive £21 on reaching 21. The executors of the will would be his wife Mary Kirk & son John.

The codicil added that Son John Kirk have full power & authority to sell the croft situated on the north east side of  the old Soar in parish of Barrow Upon Soar now in the tenure of John Lewin and also 3 tenements in the north end of Mountsorrel now in the tenure of Hugh Shelton & William Fletcher. Also if Mary was to marry again John did not have to pay her the £20 per year but she would receive a percentage of any profit instead.

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So at the age of 24 John was now very wealthy, owning a bakery business, property and mills. It would appear from the codicil added to the will that John intended to sell off at least some of the property. On his marriage certificate he has already taken on the role of the Miller at Cossington. He was married to Ann Beale on the 29th December 1796 at Broughton Astley, this is where Ann was from, John and Ann are both aged 26 at the time. The marriage licence was applied for on the 24th December and was witnessed by John Kirk and John's Uncle, John Barfoot Eames. John Barfoot Eames appears on quite a few official family documents as a witness, executor etc, so was obviously well thought of, he had married John's aunt Anne Kirk in 1794. It may be that he just had the money to cover any forfeit in the contract.

The marriage bond/licence was sworn by two sufficient witnesses, one would usually be the groom and the other, a father or a friend. This wasn't to be taken lightly as they effectively pledged to forfeit a large sum of money ranging from £40 to £200, if there was any consanguinity (a relationship within the prohibited degrees) between the parties or any pre-contract to another person. The large sum of money to be forfeit was intended to underline the serious nature of the oath. The names you see on the Marriage Licence sometimes did not include the parents possibly because one or both parties to be married  faced family opposition to their marriage or they may be just simply of full age.

John and Ann had four children altogether. William, the eldest son, was born in 1797,  when he grew older he worked as a Miller alongside his father producing flour , becoming an official partner in Kirk and Son in 1815,   he lived at Cossington Mill until his death in 1835.  Mary Ann Kirk, their first daughter, born in December 1798. John Kirk, my x5 grandfather, was born in January 1801. The last child was the fantastically named Zaccheus Ducket Kirk, born in 1803. They were all baptised at Cossington parish church. John went on to be a boatwright at Mountsorrel boat yard and Zaccheus, a coal merchant in the family firm.

It looks like John(senior) and his son William were astute when it came to dealing with their property. I have found other documents that show a John Vincent buying property in the parish of Broughton Astley from John Kirk (of Cossington Mill) for £191/5/-d on the 8th October 1818. It consisted of a three-quarter share in a messuage(a dwelling house with outbuildings and land assigned to its use), close of two acres and one other cottage. John had aquired the property in 1807, a Robert Carver acted as a trustee at the time. 

On the 7th, the previous day, John Vincent had obtained a lease for a year from John Kirk and his son William Kirk for a 1/4 share in two cottages and two acres of land. It was a standard lease agreement for a year at a rent of a peppercorn. (a peppercorn is a metaphor for a very small payment, a nominal consideration, used to satisfy the requirements for the creation of a legal contract). This kind of deal where  the lease / tenancy of non-tenanted property by its owner followed by a release of the landlord's interest in the property is known as a sale by lease and release, it was used as a way of avoiding paying tax on the transfer of the property. These documents are now in my possession.

Ann, John's wife, died on the 1st Jul 1803 and is buried at Cossington. John remarried on the 21st March 1805 to Elizabeth Hall at Market Harborough. The marriage lasted just 6 years, unfortunately Elizabeth also died on the 29th August 1811, she too is buried at Cossington. They did have one daughter, Eliza, born in the month of May in 1811, so it's quite likely that Elizabeth died of complications from the birth.

It appears that at some point in the early 1800's John moves into the business of boat building. It must be at this time that the Kirk boat building company is setup at the Mountsorrel boat yard and indeed flourishes for the next 60 years.

John lived on until the 21st January 1841, aged 71. He is buried alongside his beloved first wife Ann at Cossington. At this time his occupation is  noted as Boat Builder. Their grave stone is probably one of the most ornate i have ever seen, you can view it if you wish in the associated images link at the bottom of the page.

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JOHN KIRK  born c1770 Mountsorrel, Leicestershire

 Baptism : John Kirk  25 Jan 1770 Mountsorrel

                  Father - William  Mother - Mary

 Marriage Licence - 24 Dec 1796

                 Agreement witnesses John Kirk & John Barfoot Eames 

                 to the Marriage to Ann Beale

                 NB. She was born 1765 Broughton Astley, Leics

 Marriage1: 29 December 1796. John Kirk (Age 26) .

                 to Ann Beale (Age 26) . 

                 at  Broughton Astley (By Licence)

                 John's Residence at Mountsorrel.

                 Occupation - Miller

                 Signed by John Kirk and Ann Beale.

                 Presence of  Alice Beale, Thomas Greaves - Rector, 

                 John B Eames.

 Ann Kirk (nee Beale) dies  01 July 1803. Aged 37.

                 Buried at Cossington. 03 July 1803.

 Marriage2: 21 March 1805. John Kirk

                 to Elizabeth Hall 

                 at Market Harborough (By Licence)

                 John's Residence at Cossington

                 Occupation - Miller

 Elizabeth Kirk (nee Hall) - Johns 2nd wife dies 29 Aug 1811.

                 Buried 1st Sep 1811.

                 NB. she was born c1784 Market Harborough

 John Kirk  Died 21st Jan 1841. Age 71.

                 Registration District : Barrow Upon Soar

                 Sub-District : Barrow on Soar.

                 Where : Barrow on Soar.

                 Occupation : Boat Builder.

                 Cause : Old Age.

                 Informant : Samuel Wright, 

                 Surgeon in attendance Mountsorrel

                 Registered : 26th January 1841

 Buried at All Saints parish church, Cossington 

 Burial 27 January 1841

 Gravestone states he departed on - January 21st 1841, aged 72

Children of  JOHN KIRK and ANN BEALE are:

i.     WILLIAM KIRK

       bap 1 Nov 1797  Cossington, Leicestershire

       mar Ann Heap 29 Mar 1826 Cossington, Leicestershire 

       d 12 Apr 1835 , bur 17 Apr 1835 Cossington. Obode-Cossington Mill

       will - 5th/6th April 1835        {Split between wife Ann & children - William, John, Ann, Helen} 

ii.    MARY ANN KIRK

       bap  26 Dec 1798 Cossington, Leicestershire

       mar Willliam Pulford 05 Feb 1824 Cossington, Leicestershire

       bur 9 Dec 1831 Cossington Obode-Market Harborough

iii.   JOHN KIRK

        bap 23 Jan 1801 Cossington, Leicestershire

       mar Mary Ann Cooper 2 Jun 1825  Brinklow, Warwickshire

       d 14-16 Mar 1842 Mountsorrel, Leicestershire

       bur 19 Mar 1842 Cossington, Leicestershire

       will - 21 Feb 1842

iv.   ZACCHEUS DUCKET KIRK

       bap 03 Jul 1803 Cossington, Leicestershire

       mar Ann Luck 23 Oct 1886  All Saints, Loughborough

       d 23 Feb 1851 Mountsorrel.  Bur Cossington, Leicestershire

       will - 12 Feb 1848       *Ann Kirk (née Luck) mar2 to William Wale. 4 May 1853, Mountsorrel Chapel

Children of  JOHN KIRK and ELIZABETH HALL are:

i.     ELIZA KIRK

       bap 5 May 1811  Cossington, Leicestershire
        mar Rev Edward Hall 15 May 1834,  by Licence Mountsorrel, Leicestershire.
        d   Eliza Hall 28 Nov 1880, Litchfield.  69 yrs. Infomant - Emily Hall, daughter, 25 Jun 1881.

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Graves found at Cossington -

 Elizabeth second Wife of John Kirk.

  died August 29th 1811

  in the 27th year of her life.

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 Here rest the remains of

 John Kirk

 He departed this life

 January 21st 1841

 Aged 72

 -

 Ann the wife of

 John Kirk

 she departed this life the

 1st of July 1803

 Aged 37 Years

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 affectionate remembrance

 Zaccheus Ducket Kirk

 Late of Mountsorrel

 who departed this life

 February 23rd 1851

 in the 47th year

 of his life

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 ANN BEALE born 1765 Broughton Astley, Leicestershire

 Baptism : 30 Dec 1765  Broughton Astley, Leicestershire

                 Ann of David & Ann Beale

 Marriage  Licence - 24 Dec 1796

                 Agreement witnesses John Kirk & John Barfoot Eames 

                 to the Marriage to Ann Beale

 Marriage: 29 December 1796. John Kirk (Age 26) .

                 to Ann Beale (Age 26) . 

                 at  Broughton Astley (By Licence)

                 John's Residence at Mountsorrel.

                 Occupation - Miller

                 Signed by John Kirk and Ann Beale.

                 Presence of  Alice Beale, Thomas Greaves - Rector, 

                 John B Eames.

 Ann Kirk (nee Beale) died  01 July 1803. Aged 37.

  Buried at Cossington. 03 July 1803.

 Mother Anne makes her will in August of 1803.

Children of  JOHN KIRK and ANN BEALE are:

i.     WILLIAM KIRK

       bap 1 Nov 1797  Cossington, Leicestershire

       mar Ann Heap 29 Mar 1826 Cossington, Leicestershire 

       d 12 Apr 1835 , bur 17 Apr 1835 Cossington. Obode-Cossington Mill

       will - 5th/6th April 1835        {Split between wife Ann & children - William, John, Ann, Helen} 

ii.    MARY ANN KIRK

       bap  26 Dec 1798 Cossington, Leicestershire

       mar Willliam Pulford 05 Feb 1824 Cossington, Leicestershire

       bur 9 Dec 1831 Cossington Obode-Market Harborough

iii.   JOHN KIRK

        bap 23 Jan 1801 Cossington, Leicestershire

       mar Mary Ann Cooper 2 Jun 1825  Brinklow, Warwickshire

       d 14-16 Mar 1842 Mountsorrel, Leicestershire

       bur 19 Mar 1842 Cossington, Leicestershire

       will - 21 Feb 1842

iv.   ZACCHEUS DUCKET KIRK

       bap 03 Jul 1803 Cossington, Leicestershire

       mar Ann Luck 23 Oct 1886  All Saints, Loughborough

       d 23 Feb 1851 Mountsorrel.  Bur Cossington, Leicestershire

       will - 12 Feb 1848       *Ann Kirk (née Luck) mar2 to William Wale. 4 May 1853, Mountsorrel Chapel

 Go to associated images - John Kirk (1770) & Ann Beale (1765)

 Go to John's Father - William Kirk (1741)

 Go to John & Ann's Son - John Kirk (1801)

Go back to the Kirk Family Tree Page